The Phenix City Story

The town of Phenix City in Alabama is run by an order built on gambling, prostitution and blackmail, with the police and the courts part of it. The lawyer Albert Patterson stands for state attorney general and promises to clean the town up. His son John has returned from post-war Germany and does not want his father taking it on. Patterson wins the election and is killed before he can take office. Phil Karlson's film rests on events that actually happened in 1954 and was shot less than a year afterwards. Some prints add an interview section with real residents of the town at the opening, placing the film somewhere between news and fiction. The narrative is harsher than the noirs of its period; the violence is direct and most of the victims are innocent. John McIntire plays Patterson and Richard Kiley plays his son. Who it's for: Viewers who like 1950s American crime cinema, adaptations of real events, and hard noir. Who it's not for: The violence is very harsh for its time and a child is targeted in one scene. The narrative also carries a propagandist tone in places.